2026 Conference - What the Tech?!: Emerging Solutions for Energy Efficiency, Big and Small
Posted on August 26, 2026 by Cassie Allen
Tags, General Interest, Conference & Events
At CUB’s annual conference on October 2nd, we’re keeping it local. Harnessing Local Energy brings together leading experts in the Pacific Northwest to find local solutions to the global challenges facing the energy sector. We’ll discuss some of the technologies helping us solve these issues in our second afternoon breakout panel, What the Tech?!: Emerging Solutions for Energy Efficiency, Big and Small.
Register today for the 2026 CUB Energy Policy Conference and save! Early Bird registration closes at 5:00 pm on September 18.
2026 Conference Theme: Harnessing Local Energy
Finding Local Solutions to (Inter)National Energy Challenges
In just the last few years, Oregon’s energy landscape has seen many big, new challenges. We’ve seen hyperscaled energy demand from data centers, cuts to federal support for customers and utilities, large rate increases, and record household disconnections. With all of these hurdles, attention is increasingly turning to what we can do close to home to address both our energy needs and the human impacts of our industry.
In a world with increasingly globalized energy, we need to start to think more locally for solutions.
Panel 2B—What the Tech?!: Emerging Solutions for Energy Efficiency, Big and Small
Oregonians have new technologies available to reduce energy use and emissions that enable them to be good grid citizens. Promising tech such as balcony solar, residential battery storage systems, and window heat pumps may be excellent tools, but understanding how to effectively use them can be daunting. In homes and at scale, new tech in demand response and energy efficiency can have big impacts. We invite experts on this panel to discuss the larger policy implications and the practical use of new tech.
How can we sort through what is promising and what is over-promising in new technology? What are the tools that industry leaders are excited about that are currently available? What do we need to adapt in our energy policy to ensure these tools are accessible and affordable for Oregon? How do we go from pilot programs to widespread rollouts for new tech?
Moderator: Ryan Tran, Economist, Oregon CUB
About the Conference
The CUB Energy Policy Conference is designed as a day of discussion, networking, and sharing diverse perspectives. This conference is ideal for community groups, regulators, advocates, utility representatives, attorneys, or those interested in our region’s energy industry.
16th Annual CUB Energy Policy Conference
Friday, October 2, 2026
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sentinel Hotel
614 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97205
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08/26/26 | 0 Comments | 2026 Conference - What the Tech?!: Emerging Solutions for Energy Efficiency, Big and Small